GAMERS are outraged at a US proposal to tax violent video games and donate the proceeds to the victims of violent crime.

US Vice President Joe Biden says there is "no legal reason" why taxing games such as Mortal Kombat would be an issue.

The Vice President spoke after meeting with senior religious leaders, who suggested that proceeds of the tax should go towards victims of gun violence and their families, reported the website politico.com.

Gamers have come out strongly against the idea, with Forbes journalist Dave Thier saying the idea of taxing the games goes against the First Amendment of the American Constitution - the right to free speech.

"The Supreme Court has been clear that video games, from Tetris on up to Grand Theft Auto 5, get the same protections under freedom of speech as other media," he wrote. "The idea of specifically taxing violent video games based on the notion that they are corrupting America's youth runs directly counter to that idea."

Twitter response has also been strong, with many game enthusiasts branding the Vice President as out of touch.

As Geek.com notes, this sort of concern is nothing new. The Obama Administration has funded research into the effects of violent video games on young people following the Sandy Hook tragedy, and is in fact a common theme in the wake of any major national tragedy. At this point there's no indication that Graham's suggestion will come to fruition, with Vice President Biden saying that a study should be made on the effects violent video games have on developing brains.

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Comments on this story

Michael Jones Posted at 1:41 PM May 16, 2013

How about using the money from GUN SALES instead as video games do NOT make people violent!
And since most people in the US want to keep guns legal its a win win

pat of adelaide Posted at 1:35 PM May 16, 2013

Everyone searches for a reason besides the perp being just plain old crazy, so lets roll out the voilent games make violent people bandwagon. maybe if you had a very young child and raised them on a diet of only violent games, movies, books and added in domestic violence you would end up being right. but on the whole they dont make people more violent, i think it's fair to say that violent people by nature are attracted to violent things. so they will of course play violent games, if they play anything it isnt going to be "the saddle club or bambi's first birthday" .. i have played violent games for as long as they have existed (the original castle wolfenstein anyone?) and i am a complete pacifist who objects to sensless brutality in real life but see's nothing wrong with video game violence.
It is the person who is to blame, start to finish they have the ability to choose their own conduct lets not give them another excuse to shift blame onto

Nick Posted at 1:35 PM May 16, 2013

Maybe they should place an extra tax on GUN owners, and donate that money to victims of GUN violence...
or they could just ban guns altogether.

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